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MIKE ZEISBERGER, QMI Agency

Oct 19, 2012

, Last Updated: 1:33 AM ET

When the subject of discussion is Tim Tebow, where does the hype stop and reality start?

Good luck trying to figure that one out.

We’ll leave the job of making that distinction to New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who now has to deal with the possibility of Tebow lining up in the backfield and doing his best Shonn Greene imitation.

Then again, knowing how prepared The Hoody usually is for any and all possibilities that could transpire on a football field, he probably was not the least bit surprised at the news Wednesday that Tebow might see some snaps at running back this weekend when the New York Jets take on his Pats.

“That’s a possibility,” chatty Jets coach Rex Ryan said Thursday. “The thing about Tim — with him being a football player like we’ve always talked about — by playing quarterback, he knows all the positions. So, can you plug him in at running back? Can you plug him in at tight end or whatever?

“I think the answer is yes.”

With backup running backs Joe McKnight (left ankle sprain) and Bilal Powell (separated right shoulder) expected to miss the game, the Jets are thin at the position. Greene and rookie Jonathan Grimes are the only names listed on the depth chart, opening the door for Tebow.

Tebow has 18 carries this season, all coming on direct snaps from the wildcat or on fakes.

For those of us who were on hand in Denver in January to witness Tebow’s magical post-season overtime win over favoured Pittsburgh, almost everyone in the press box admitted afterward that Tebow should never be underestimated again.

At the same time, let’s face it: Through the first six weeks, Tebow’s impact on the Jets has been minimal. Scrape away all the headlines and talk-show gabbing, and you’ll find a guy that has accrued just 96 total yards for New York this season — 64 on the ground, 32 through the air.

Maybe that will change Sunday. Maybe he’ll finally be a significant contributor for the Jets on Sunday, perhaps doing it from the running back position.

But up to this point, he barely has left a faint fingerprint on the Jets season.

PETERSON FAR FROM OK

His surgically repaired knee seems to be holding up.

The same can’t be said for his sprained left ankle,

Despite the fact that he failed to practise for a second consecutive day on Thursday, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson expects to play in Minnesota’s upcoming two-games-in-five-days stretch, which includes contests against Arizona on Sunday and Tampa Bay next Thursday.

At the same time, Peterson admits he is battling constant pain in the ankle, which he injured in Week 5 versus Tennessee.

“Since I twisted it up, it’s been hurting consistently,” Peterson told ESPN. “Then we go out and play (against the Washington Redskins), I re-aggravate it, just the cutting and different things you’re doing out there. So, it’s sore, but you’ve just got to push through it.”

But for how long?

AARON vs. SHANNON

Using the word “stupid” to make his point, Aaron Rodgers has taken exception to CBS analyst Shannon Sharpe’s suggestion that the Green Bay quarterback seems to consistently blame everyone else but himself for the team’s shortcomings.

During the NFL Today show this past Sunday, Sharpe said he sees “a lot of finger-pointing by Aaron Rodgers.

“I don’t really know Aaron Rodgers, haven’t been around him,” Sharpe said. “But he strikes me as a guy that it’s always someone else’s fault other than his own. I’m not so sure, I’m not so sure, that deep down inside, how well his receiving corps really likes Aaron Rodgers.”

For his part, Rodgers alluded that Sharpe’s comments were silly.

“Anybody can have an opinion about anything regardless of how stupid it might be, or uninformed,” Rodgers told ESPN radio.

Point taken.

EXTRA POINTS

Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger left practice Thursday with a right foot injury but is expected to play against the Bengals on Sunday ... Browns running back Trent Richardson returned to practice Thursday and will wear a flak jacket to protect his sore ribs against Indy ... Nursing an ankle injury, Saints tight end Jimmy Graham returned to practice on a limited basis on Thursday and will be a game-time decision against Tampa Bay on Sunday.

SORRY SIS, SUH SETTING TO STAY

Family doesn’t always know best. Not when you are Ndamukong Suh.

Not long ago, Suh and his sister, Ngam, were sued in a landlord dispute. In that same general period, Suh was involved in a highly publicized minor car accident. When Ngam subsequently followed up those incidents by tweeting: “Thank u Jesus! Only 2.5 more years! #Freedom,” well, paranoid Detroit Lions fans figured it was an indication her brother would bolt the Motor City after his contract runs out in 21/2 years.

On Thursday, Suh attempted to alleviate those fears by indicating he’d consider staying in Detroit on a long-term basis.

“What my sister tweets is what she tweets,” Suh told the Detroit Free Press. “It has nothing to do with me..

“I would love to be here. This city is great to me. The people are great people and I love playing here. That’s why I wear the jersey.”